Just A Dream
by LeapofFaith07
Summary: Cuddy wakes up to the family she has always wanted, but wakes up the next morning single - and definately not pregnant. Or is she? R&R! Thanks to my beta: MissCuddles :
1. Stupid Dreams

* * *

A/N – Thanks to L8nightwriter who gave me this idea!

Disclaimer – I do not own House M.D. It all belongs to David Shore and Fox.

~Chapter 1~

Cuddy awoke to the faint sound of a baby's whimpers. The room was dark, but she could tell that she wasn't in her bed. She reached over and found a lamp on the bedside table. Turning it on, she noticed a baby monitor beside the lamp; and saw a white robe hanging on a chair by the door. Yawning, she got out of bed and slowly put on the robe and opened a door that lead to a hallway. Following the sound of the baby, she made her way down the hallway; recognizing some items as hers and some others. Cautiously making her way down the stairs, she was shocked to find a young woman, probably in her early twenties, standing in the middle of the kitchen, slowly moving side to side, as she held a baby in her left arm and a bottle of milk in her right hand.

Cuddy stood there in a trance as she watched who she guessed to be a new mom. Why she was there, she did not know, but she did not care now either.

The young woman turned around, and looked at Cuddy with a small smile, "Sorry, Lisa. Did we wake you?"

"Oh, no. I just woke up and came down to get a drink," She improvised as she wandered over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Ok, that's good. Do you mind holding her? She is still fussing, and I think she might be happier with her mommy," She asked as she cooed the little girl as Cuddy took a small sip of water.

"Sure,no problem!" Cuddy said as she put down the water bottle on the granite countertop and took the little girl in her arms. She looked as if she was a couple weeks old. She had a heart-shaped face, rosebud lips, and deep blue eyes.

"Goodnight, Katie, I will see you in about…forty-five minutes," The young woman cooed as she glanced at the clock on the wall, "I will be back down in a few minutes, I am giving Dad a bottle for Chris, seeing as he is humanly incapable of doing such a thing."

Cuddy smiled as she looked down at the adorable baby girl in her arms.

"Ok," She answered in a slight daze.

The young woman grabbed a bottle from the clean counter and slowly wandered up the stairs.

"Hello, Katie!" Cuddy said quietly as she smiled widely at the little girl who was calming down in her arms.

She stood there, mesmerized by the young girl in her arms until the young woman returned in the kitchen.

"It looks like she is really tired and about to fall asleep any moment," She looked up at Cuddy, "And by the looks of it, so do you – why don't you two go to bed, I will clean up down here."

"Ok, thanks!" Cuddy said with a small smile and carried the little baby upstairs. She wandered down the hall until she found a white bedroom door with the names "Katelyn" and "Christopher" decorated on it in light pink and baby blue. Cautiously opening the door with her spare hand, she was shocked at what she found.

The man was sitting in a rocking chair, feeding a baby boy with the bottle the young woman had given him minutes before. Cuddy stood in the doorway slightly shocked before whispering to herself, "House?"

He looked up at her and a large smile grew on his face, "Hey, my three favourite girls are back!" Before she could respond, he continued, "I think we have a smart one over here, Chris is learning how to talk!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Dad, he said 'Boo'. I don't think that two week olds understand the sounds coming out of their mouths yet." The young woman corrected and she squeezed past Cuddy and took the empty bottle from House's hand.

"Jen, don't be so mean!" House whined as he reached for his cane and slowly stood up with Chris lying peacefully in his arms.

"Ok, well; I am going to go to bed now, don't wake me up until 7:00. That gives me 1 hour…" She mumbled, "Goodnight!" Jennifer said as she gave her father a kiss on the cheek, and touched Cuddy's arm on her way out.

"So, did you sleep well Lisa? Or did us boys wake you up," House teased as he slowly lowered Chris into the crib with the blue blanket. Cuddy looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms and placed her in the crib with the light pink blanket.

"I slept well. I woke up to get a drink of water," She stayed with the story she had told Jen not that long before.

"Oh, ok. Are you tired?" He asked as he wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

Cuddy rolled her eyes as she turned to walk out of the door, "I will see you in a few minutes."

House smirked as he leaned in and tucked his twins in bed before grabbing his wooden cane and limping out into the dark hallway.

"Hey Lise, everyone's asleep…" he whispered excitedly as he slowly climbed onto their king sized bed, "and apparently so are you," he added disappointed as he looked at his wife sleeping soundly beside him.

"Goodnight," He said softly as he kissed her on the forehead before wrapping his arm around her waist and slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

A small ray of light shone through the blinds and rested on her calm face. She slowly awoke and subconsciously reached to the other side of the bed, only to have her hand fall down beside her. Sitting up abruptly, she scanned the room, "House?" She asked hesitantly. She was in a familiar bedroom with the golden bed sheets. _It was all just a…dream_, she thought sadly, as she rubbed her eyes with her left hand, while holding the blankets at her chest with her right. Looking at her clock, she noticed that it was almost 6:00am. Sighing as she got out of bed, she wondered if the dream would ever become a reality…

_Of course not, House does not have a 20-year-old daughter – it was all just a stupid dream. Your mind is playing with your mind and feelings…_ She thought to herself as she entered the bathroom, _it was all a stupid dream_.

* * *

A/N – Kinda short, I know…but I haven't touched this chapter in months, and thought I should finish it up and post it….haha, hope you liked it!


	2. I'm Just a Kid

Disclaimer – I do not own House M.D. It all belongs to David Shore and Fox.

~Chapter 2~

Cuddy rushed out of the door while attempting to put on her jacket. It was almost 8:00am and she was going to be late. It was probably because she spent the whole morning trying to make up a way for her dream to become reality, but she didn't want to think about that anymore. If House had a daughter, he would probably tease and mock her for her infertility – how he managed to get a kid without trying, and she tried so hard but failed every time. _No_, Cuddy shook her head, _he may be an ass, but he would never do something like that_. Pausing as she reached her new 2009, silver Audi A4, she shook her head once again, _who am I kidding, he has said many things like that before_.

She entered the car quickly, wiping away a tear that was threatening to fall down.

Taking a deep breath, she quietly drove to work, holding in the tears that came to her eyes when she saw a young woman jogging, while pushing a stroller on the sidewalk nearby.

Shaking her head in denial, she pulled over to the side of the road. _Your time has come and gone. Just accept the fact you are never going to have kids of your own, _She thought bitterly before she started her car and continued driving to work.

* * *

"Good morning," Cuddy faked a smile as she passed by the nurse's station and quickly unlocked the doors to her office. The sunshine peeked through the partially closed blinds, which briefly lit her office – the room where she had hired House, fought with House, cried about House, laughed about House…_enough about House!_ She mentally screamed.

She sat down in her chair, and put her briefcase on the desk and took out a few papers and files she needed for the day.

Her mind traveled once again – the third time that day, and she decided she needed to take a break and take a short walk.

"Please hold all of my calls, and cancel my morning meetings," Cuddy said to her PA as she walked out of her office and made her way down the hall to the PPTH daycare.

"Dr. Cuddy?" Anna, the daycare supervisor asked hesitantly as she walked up to her boss.

"Hmm?" Cuddy answered as she continued to watch the young kids run around and play in the large colourful room.

"Is everything ok?" She asked kindly as she looked into Cuddy's sad blue eyes.

"Yes, why?" Cuddy asked confused.

"Oh, it just looked like you were in some sort of trance, and wanted to make sure you were doing ok," Anna said quickly as she smiled and went back to play with the kids.

Cuddy looked down and noticed both hands wrapped protectively around her stomach. _Shit_.

She removed her hands from her stomach and let them hang lifelessly at her side.

"Hello." A little girl's voice came from behind her.

Cuddy took a deep breath and turned around to face the young girl, "Hello!" She exclaimed with a smile.

"My uncle told me to come and see you…he said you liked kids like me, and he doesn't want me to…scwew up to his job…" The young girl exclaimed proud of herself for remembering what her uncle told her.

Cuddy laughed softly, and bent down to the young girl's height. She was wearing white capris and a light pink tank top with a white butterfly in the center.

"What is your name?" Cuddy asked kindly as she delicately moved a stray blonde curl out of the young girls face.

"Jennifer, but you can call me Jen!" Jen exclaimed excitedly as she looked into Cuddy's eyes, blue meeting blue, "What your name?"

"Nice to meet you Jen, my name is Lisa," Cuddy said as she extended her hand for Jen to shake. Jen looked at the hand puzzled and instead ran towards Cuddy and gave her a big hug.

"I hug," She explained when she stepped back.

"That's ok, hugs are better," Cuddy said with a wink, "Who is your uncle?"

"Greg House, but he is trying to talk to my mommy's sister to see if I can stay with her," Jen explained matter-of-factly.

"I see, well that isn't very nice. Why are you staying with him if he doesn't want you to?" Cuddy asked kindly.

Jen looked up at Cuddy innocently, "My mommy and daddy went on a trip, and never came home…and on a piece of paper it said that they want me to stay with Uncle Greg. But he don't want me."

Cuddy's heart ached for the little girl. How could someone not want her?

"Come, let's go talk to your uncle, shall we?" She asked Jen as she stood up and extended her left hand.

"OK!" Jen exclaimed as she held onto Cuddy's hand and walked with her towards the elevators.

* * *

A/N - Sorry for the short chap...again...I have my exams next week....and need to study....but I will try and update soon!


	3. Littlest Things

Disclaimer – I do not own House M.D. It all belongs to David Shore and Fox.

~Chapter 3~

"Excuse me; do you know where Gregory House is?" A voice behind them asked professionally. Cuddy and Jen turned around, and saw an old woman with white hair tied up in a bun coming towards them. She was wearing a full navy suit – jacket and skirt – with matching 'granny' shoes.

"He is upstairs diagnosing a patient…I am his boss, Dr. Lisa Cuddy," Cuddy said as she walked towards the woman, Jen holding on tightly to her hand with both of hers. Cuddy gave her a reassuring squeeze as the woman stopped a couple feet in front of them.

"I am Leanne, a social worker. I am here to speak with him regarding a young girl named…Jennifer House?" She asked as she flipped through a navy blue chart.

"That's me!" Jen said excitedly as she looked up at Cuddy with a grin. Cuddy looked down and smiled back before bringing her gaze back to Leanne.

"Why are you with Jennifer, isn't she supposed to be with Dr. House?" The social worker asked as she eyed Cuddy suspiciously.

"He is very busy right now, so I offered to take Jen down to the hospital daycare." Cuddy improvised as she pointed to the daycare, which was across the hall.

"I thought we were gonna go up and see Uncle Greg cuz he dont want me?" Jen asked innocently as she tugged on Cuddy's skirt.

"Excuse me? Who doesn't want you?" Leanne asked as she glared at Cuddy.

"Oh, um. She just means that Dr. House doesn't want her in his office because his team of doctors are in his office, and she would get bored. So he asked me to take her to the daycare so she can have fun with the other kids," She lied as she played with the curls on top of the young girl's head.

"Oh, are you helping him look after her? It doesn't say that in the file…" Leanne exclaimed shocked as she once again opened the navy blue file.

"No, I am just bringing her to the daycare. We just met actually," Cuddy informed with a small smile.

"And Dr. House trusts you with the temporary care of his niece?" She asked.

"Yes, I am his boss. We have known each other for more than twenty years," Cuddy said confidently.

"I see. Since he is so busy, and you and Dr. House seem to be good friends, do you mind answering a few questions on his behalf?" Leanne asked, sceptical of what Cuddy had told her.

"Sure! Jen, why don't you join the other kids in the daycare?" Cuddy asked kindly as he placed her hand on the young girl's back and steered her in the right direction.

"OK!" Jen smiled at the two adults and hugged Cuddy's leg tightly before running into the room.

"So, he has been taking his four year old niece to work lately?" The woman asked as Cuddy watched Jen join the other kids with a small smile on her face.

"Today is the first day," She informed lightly, as if in a trance.

"How long has he had full custody of the child?" Leanne asked as she eyed Cuddy over the open folder.

"Since Friday Afternoon." Cuddy guessed, turning around to face her.

"Has Dr. House taken good care of the child? Fed her, bathed her, given her attention, given her a separate bedroom? The children need somewhere that is 'theirs' to help the process easier on them." Leanne asked with a sigh.

Cuddy froze. There was no way House would look after a child; he couldn't even look after himself! Jen would be lucky if he let her sleep on the couch!

"Yes of course!" Cuddy lied as she looked at Jen through the window, _He better be taking good care of her_, Cuddy thought as she turned around to face the social worker.

"I am sorry; I have a meeting to attend…" Cuddy said slowly, hoping the woman would take the hint.

"Oh – of course! It was a pleasure talking to you," Leanne said with a smile before writing something in the folder and walking out of the hospital.

Cuddy waited for the woman to walk around the corner before entering the daycare.

"Jen, come on girl, time to go," Cuddy called kindly as she walked into the large room.

"OK!" Jen called out as she ran towards her with her hands full of various toys.

"What have you got there?" Cuddy asked with a small laugh. Jen had toys covering her face, and she was walking as if she was drunk.

"Toys," a muffled voice came from behind the stack.

"I see, you can't take those toys with you though, I'm sorry," Cuddy said softly as she bent down to the girl's height and removed a teddy bear, revealing the young girls face.

"Is she yours?" Anna asked as she came up to the two.

Cuddy laughed, "No, I wish."

Anna stood awkwardly, not quite sure of what to say. She knew her boss had gone through many IVF treatments and failed, and she didn't want to say anything she would regret.

Cuddy noticed the awkward silence between the two and started taking toys out of the young girl's grasp as she talked, "She is friend of mine's, and they are busy right now so I offered to look after her."

"Oh, that is very nice of you," Anna said with a smile. A crash, followed by a scream, was heard not too far away, so Anna excused herself and ran towards the crying.

"Ready?" Cuddy asked as she removed the last toy and placed it on the pile of other toys Jen had collected on the floor.

She nodded and grabbed Cuddy's hand and walked with her towards the elevator.

"Are you a mommy?" Jen asked innocently as she looked up at Cuddy.

"No," Cuddy answered sadly.

"Oh…you would make a great mommy!" She exclaimed before running into the open elevator and pushing the button to the fifth floor.

"Thanks, I would hope so," Cuddy whispered as she followed Jen into the elevator, leaned against the far wall, and sighed as she looked down at the girl who was making funny faces in the mirror.

The elevator dinged as the doors opened, signalling their arrival to the fifth floor.

"Come on, Jen – Uncle Greg is on this floor," Cuddy said as she started walking out of the elevator, and held the doors open as she waited for the young girl.

"I know!" Jen exclaimed as she dashed past Cuddy and ran down the hall to House's office.

Cuddy smiled as she followed the girl towards her uncle's office, not quite sure what to expect when she walked in.

* * *

A/N - hope you liked it! I will update sometime next week hopefully...my math exam is on Tuesday...and I am far from being prepared :(


	4. Gives You Hell

Disclaimer – I do not own House M.D. It all belongs to David Shore and Fox.

~Chapter 4~

"Tests came back negative, what else can it be?" Kutner asked as he looked around the table. Foreman was getting a cup of coffee, Thirteen was flipping through the file, Taub was staring at the white board, and House was resting his head on his wooden cane looking into the hallway.

"Shit," House mumbled as he stood up and limped into his dark office, closing the door behind him.

Jen reached up and fiddled with the door handle, trying to open it. Cuddy smiled softly and reached down opening the door for the little girl.

"Uncle Greg!" Jen singed as she scoped the room. She glanced back at Cuddy confused, but heard the rattling of pills in the office, and dashed over to the glass door.

"I sees him!" She cried as she pointed to House through the glass.

The team looked at Cuddy, as if mentally asking, "What is going on?"

Before Cuddy could say anything to answer their silent pleas Jen ran back to Cuddy, "Come on! Before he disappeared-ed again!"

Cuddy smiled at the doctors before walking over to the glass door separating House's office with the Differential room. She opened the door, and followed Jen inside. Instead of going straight to House, she walked towards the light and turned it on.

Ringing emitted from House's jacket pocket, and he pulled out his cell phone with his free hand.

"Its your aunt, hold on – go see Cuddy," House said as he poked Jen with his cane.

Jen pushed his cane to the side and crossed her arms, "I told-ed you, I don't have ants! They are yucky! And what is a Cuddy?"

House glared at her as he answered his phone, "Are you gonna take the spawn or aren't you?"

Cuddy heard a shout from the other end of the phone, and House removed the phone from his ear, leaned his cane against the desk, and put his free hand over the receiver.

"Your _aunt_ is your mom's sister. I am your _uncle_ – your dad's cousin. Cuddy is my boss, who is standing right there," House said angrily for having to explain such simple information.

"Her name is Lisa, and she is very nice!" Jen argued before rushing to Cuddy's side.

House rolled his eyes and put the phone back to his ear, "Yeah…ok…what am I supposed to do about that?" There was a pause, then House added, "This is your niece I'm talking about, don't you care about her? Yes, as a matter-of-fact – ok fine, whatever, you're right, I don't care."  
Another paused and House stood up in frustration, "World trip? Take her with you! I have already asked everyone else in the family, you people are pathetic!"  
Shouting was heard louder this time, and House tried to reason with her, "She is just a little kid – easy to take care of. Yes, easy – they just eat, sleep, and poop. I am not talking about babies – does she look like a baby to you?"

Cuddy sighed, put her hand on Jen's back, and steered her towards the differential room where the ducklings were trying hard not to watch the scene in the office, "Come, let's go in here, would you like a lollipop?"

Jen nodded and smiled at Thirteen, who waved from her spot at the table. Cuddy opened the glass door and leaned in, "Dr. Hadley, can you take Jen down to get a lollipop? Bring her back upstairs please."

Jen rushed to Thirteen who was standing, and had her hand extended out to the young girl.

"Sure Dr. Cuddy, is she yours?"

Cuddy shook her head and said simply, "No."

"Ok, well – let's go get some lollipops, shall we?" Thirteen asked kindly as Jen smiled and dashed towards the elevators, "I'm gonna beat-ed you!"

Cuddy smiled, and went back into House's main office.

"House, what is going on?" Cuddy asked as she closed the door and walked towards his desk.

"What do you mean?"

"Who is Jen, why don't you want her, and where are her parents?"

"She is my cousin's kid, because she is a _kid_, and they died," House said as he emphasized 'kid' as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"A social services worker saw me this morning," Cuddy started, not wanting to think of Jen as an orphan just yet.

"You adopting an evil spawn?" House asked with a smirk.

Cuddy looked up shocked, "No, she wanted to see you about Jen. I covered for you and answered the questions. I was just wondering if you were looking after her, that's all."

"Of course I am, Cuddy – what do you think I am, a monster?"

"No, it's just-"

"She sleeps in my bed – kicks me all night long. She steals my food, and makes a mess. I want her to stay with someone else because my apartment is too small! Even if I wanted to keep her for another 14 years it would never work out."

"She can stay with me," Cuddy said confidently, "I will look after her, she can have her own room, and you can live happily ever after alone in your tiny apartment."

"Fine, as long as she isn't with me I don't really care," House said as he popped a couple pills.

"Ok, I will stop off after work and pick up her things," Cuddy said with a small smile, and turned around to leave the office.

"Cuddy," House called when she reached for the door handle.

She turned around, "What now, House?"  
"Why" He asked as he stared into her eyes. Even though she was on the other side of the room, his blue eyes had the same effect on her as if he was standing not even two feet away.

"'Why' what," She asked him quietly.

"Why are you taking her? Is it because of your desperate need to become a mommy?" He said as he continued staring into her eyes, waiting for an answer.

"No House, I want to help her. She is an innocent little girl, who deserves love and attention," Cuddy said as she took a step closer in his direction.

"No one helps others without something in return. You are a great example of that. Heck, everyone in this hospital is an excellent example of that. Won't help others without the great big pay check at the end of the month," House said as he twirled his cane.

"Yeah, everyone except you, right?" Cuddy said bitterly, "Have you ever thought, that maybe, just _maybe_, people help others because they want to? That they do it because it makes them feel _good_?" She asked as she stormed over towards him.

"That is bullshit Cuddy, and you know it. Tell me the real reason why you want her. You want to show her off? Get your own. That way people can actually compare your eyes and hair with the little kid."

"I'm going to let her stay the night at my place. You can tidy up yours and get ready for her, because you obviously don't need help from anyone. By the way, you are her legal guardian, whether you like it or not. So stop calling her relatives; they obviously can't take care of her right now. And, I suggest you move into a bigger house," Cuddy said angrily as she stormed out of the office.

The ducklings looked away as Cuddy passed by in the hall. They didn't hear what happened, but they knew by Cuddy's exit that whatever it was, it didn't go well.

* * *

A/N - Hope you liked it!


	5. Lollipop, Lollipop

A/N – I know, kinda 'pointless' chap…but it _does_ have meaning for later on…at least, I think it does…well…trust me – more 'important' stuff is coming…thanks for reading! And tell me what you think – I vote that Jen is the cutest kid, EVER!

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own House M.D. It all belongs to David Shore and Fox.

~Chapter 5~

Cuddy shook her head and leaned against the wall of the elevator. Why did House have to be like that? The elevator doors opened, and she took a deep breath as she walked briskly towards the safety of her office.

* * *

"Lisa! I gots-ed you a lollipop!" a small voice said excitedly, causing Cuddy to freeze outside of her office.

Cuddy turned around to see Thirteen standing with Jen, who held a red lollipop in her small hand, which was extended up to the height of Cuddy's waist.

"Thank you! Did you get one for your Uncle Greg?" Cuddy asked kindly as she took the lollipop from the young girl's grasp.

Jen looked around nervously, "No…"

"You should get him one, he also likes the red ones," Cuddy said as she bent down to the girl's height and gave her a hug, "Do you want to have a sleepover at my house tonight?"

"A sleepover?" She exclaimed, "I have never had a sleepover before!"

Cuddy laughed and stood up, "I'm assuming that is a yes?"

"Mmhm," She sang as she sucked on her purple lollipop.

"I need to work on some paperwork…can you take her up to Dr. House, please?" Cuddy asked Thirteen as she put her hand on her office door handle.

"I will see you later," Cuddy told the little girl as Jen gave her leg a hug.

"Bye-bye!" She called as she waved her right hand, which was holding the lollipop, while Thirteen practically dragged her by the left arm towards the elevators.

* * *

"Uncle Greg! I gots-ed you a lollipop!" Jen sang as she ran into House's office.

"Why would you do something like that? Are you trying to poison me? Trick me? Ask me for a favour?" House asked as he stared at Jen with a shocked expression on his unshaven face.

"No, Lisa told me to get-ed you one and she said you liked the wed ones…" Jen told him innocently as she held out the red lollipop, and put the purple on in her mouth.

"What flavour do you have?" House asked as he grabbed the lollipop and ripped off the wrapper.

"Purpo," Jen answered as she removed the lollipop from her mouth and showed him.

"Did you know that red is better than _all_ of the flavours?" House asked as he leaned back in his chair and sucked on his red lollipop.

"No it's not! Wed is yucky!" Jen protested as she glared at House.

"Have you ever tried the red kind?" House asked as he looked at the girl suspiciously.

"No, but Maddie said wed is yucky!" She said as she put the lollipop back in her mouth and crossed her arms.

"Well, _Maddie_ is wrong," House announced as he rolled his eyes.

"No!" Jen shouted.

"Who is Maddie?" House asked as he raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"She is my friend, and is sitting right there!" Jen said as she pointed to the chair in the corner of House's office.

"Sorry to break it to you kid, but that chair is empty," House said with a sigh.

"No! She is right _there_!" She argued as she ran over to the chair and pointed to the center of the seat.

"No she isn't, I will prove it to you," House told Jen as he grabbed his cane, and walked over to the Differential room, "Foreman, come here and sit in that chair," He shouted as he opened the door.

"Um, ok?" Foreman said as he walked into House's office and sat in the chair.

Jen stood beside the chair in shock. The office was quiet for a few moments, and then the tears came.

"YOU KILLED HER!" Jen screamed as she threw the sticky lollipop in Foreman's direction.

"I did what?" Foreman asked confused as he felt his head for the lollipop.

"Your sitting on Maddie," House told him casually, as he continued sucking on his own lollipop. Foreman jumped up surprised and looked down at the empty seat, visibly confused.

Jen turned around and pointed at House and screamed, "IT'S YOUR FAULT!"

"Whoa, calm down. He is the one that sat on her," House said as he pointed at Foreman accusingly.

"But you told-ed him to!" Jen cried as she ran out of the office and down the hall towards the elevators.

"Shit, if you need me…I will be hiding," House mumbled as he limped out of his office.

* * *

Cuddy was sitting inside of her office doing some paperwork to try and get her mind off of House. She heard crying outside of her office, and then her PA trying to convince the kid to see their parents.

The crying did not stop, but instead increased as the kid ran away from the office.

Cuddy quickly ran to the office doors and went outside to see her PA looking at her nervously.

"Where did they go?" Cuddy asked after putting up her hand to stop her PA from making up any excuses.

"That way," She stuttered as she pointed down the hall.

"Thank you."

* * *

"Jen? Are you ok? What's wrong?" Cuddy asked as she ran towards a tear-faced Jen, who was lying on the floor in the middle of the hallway in the fetal position.

"She's dead," She said plainly, as Cuddy lifted her from the ground and held her tightly in her arms.

"Who's dead, sweetheart?" Cuddy asked kindly as she walked towards her office, hoping to avoid a scene.

"Maddie, and she will never sees me or talk-ed to me ever again!" Jen cried as she buried her head into Cuddy's shoulder.

"Who is Maddie? What happened to her? Jen, please talk to me," Cuddy said softly as she sat down with Jen on the couch in her office.

"My friend! Uncle House told-ed a big guy to sits on her," She told Cuddy between sniffs.

"That's not very nice, where is Maddie now?" Cuddy asked as she wiped a tear from Jen's cheek.

"In Uncle Greg's room," Jen said as she hugged Cuddy tightly.

"I think we should go talk to Uncle Greg…don't you?" Cuddy asked as she rubbed Jen's back.

"NO!" Jen screamed as she looked at Cuddy with fearful eyes.

"Why not?" She asked as she looked at Jen slightly confused.

"I don't want him to hurt-ed you!" Jen said as she clung onto Cuddy once more.

"He isn't going to hurt me, we are…friends," Cuddy assured as she slowly pried Jen off her and smiled.

"You pwomise?" Jen asked as she looked up at Cuddy with her innocent baby blue eyes.

"I promise," Cuddy said and gave her one last hug before standing up and extending her hand to the little girl, "Come, let's go see your Uncle."


	6. Maddie Go 'Round

A/N: ok…so I had my surgery on the 9th, and was on meds when I wrote some of this, so sorry if some stuff doesn't make sense…or I have random errors…this chap isn't beta-ed, well…none of my stories are, lol. And it took me a long (long, long, long, long, - shall I go on?) time to write because, well, I wasn't in the mood after my surgery :P sorry!

* * *

Disclaimer – I do not own House M.D. It all belongs to David Shore and Fox.

~Chapter 6~

Cuddy and Jen walked hand-in-hand towards House's office, only to find it empty. The ducklings were not in the Differential room, so she guessed they were with their patient.

"Where the hell did he go?" Cuddy mumbled to herself.

Jen wriggled her hand out of Cuddy's grasp and ran into the office.

"She is right _there_!" She told Cuddy confidently as she pointed to the same empty spot on the chair as she did before.

Cuddy couldn't help but laugh a little, Jen had an imaginary friend.

"Yes she is, she looks pretty good for someone who was recently sat on," Cuddy said as she walked over beside Jen and bent down to the girl's height.

"Yeah, but she might-ed be dead," Jen mumbled as she frowned at the chair.

"Well, I'm a doctor. Do you think I could save her?" Cuddy asked.

"Um, no," Jen said as she shook her head, "Only Uncle Greg can save her."

Cuddy smiled, "Ok, let's go find him."

* * *

Once they got off the elevators, Cuddy led Jen towards Exam Room 1.

Brenda, the Head Nurse saw Cuddy standing at the door, and when their eyes met, she nodded as if to say, 'yes, the man you are looking for is in fact hiding in that room.'

Cuddy smiled and opened the door in one swift motion.

House was sitting on the small black stool reading a magazine when his boss and niece interrupted him.

"Uncle Greg! I founded you!" Jen screamed excitedly as she ran towards him.

"Go away!" House said as he pushed her back with his cane. Jen fought against it, but the cane successfully kept her at a distance.

Cuddy gave him a look of disapproval, and he looked at her innocently and said, "I'm afraid she is gonna try and hug me! Or worse, give me a sloppy kiss on the cheek!"

"I needs you to save-ed Maddie!" his niece informed him as she crossed her arms, "You made your friend hurt-ed her, so now you needs to saves her!"

House laughed, "Yeah, not gonna happen – I'm busy. Don't want to get into trouble for not doing my job." He added as he looked at Cuddy with a smirk.

"House, 'fix' her friend now, if you don't, oh so help me, I will -" Cuddy threatened as she pointed her left index finger at him and glared.

If looks could kill, he would be a smoking, shrivelled up pile of ashes on the floor.

"Ok, ok, ok, I will save her dying 'friend'," House interrupted completely annoyed, with his left hand raised in the air to surrender.

"Good." Cuddy was just about to turn around and leave, but a small tug on her skirt stopped her. She turned around and looked down at Jen.

"Can you carries me?" She asked as she lifted her arms high into the air.

Cuddy smiled, extended her arms, and picked up the young girl. Jen sat on her hip with both arms wrapped around Cuddy's neck.

When she rested her head on Cuddy's shoulder as Cuddy left the room, House couldn't help but think how good the woman looked with a kid.

Shaking his head to get rid of the thought, he followed his boss towards the elevators.

* * *

"Is she alive _now_?" House asked Jen, hoping that she would finally tell him that her little _friend_ was alive.

The trio were in House's office, trying to save Maddie. Cuddy was sitting on the floor beside Jen, who was kneeling beside the chair, occasionally looking up at House with her eyes full of hope.

House was sitting on the footstool, using a stethoscope to check Maddie's heartbeat. After he tried a 'procedure' on the air, he would look over at his niece and ask if it saved Maddie or not. They had been trying to save her for the past 10 minutes, until House finally got irritated.

"Can she breathe?" House asked.

Jen pondered this for a moment, before shaking her head.

"No."

"That means she hasn't been breathing for a long, long time. If you don't breathe for four minutes, your brain will die," House said as he stood up, dropping the stethoscope to the floor.

"I changed-ed my mind – she can breathe now!" Jen said quickly as she jumped up from the floor and ran over to House.

"Really? Are you sure?" House asked skeptically.

"Yups! She's alive, thanks Uncle Greg!" Jen said as she hugged his good leg tightly.

"Whatever, I have to go back to the clinic – before I get into trouble," He said as he looked up at his boss with a smirk.

Cuddy just shook her head and extended her hand to Jen, someone had to look after the little girl, right?

"Are you hungry?" She asked.

"Yeah, and Maddie is too," Jen responded with a smile as she placed her hand in Cuddy's.

"I am going to take her to the cafeteria, and I will page you when I need you," Cuddy told House as she led Jen towards the door.

"Why do you need me," House asked with a smirk as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"So that Jen and I can stop by at your apartment to pick up her things," she told him as she rolled her eyes.

"Well that's no fun," he mumbled.

"If you want to have fun, go play your video games," Cuddy called over her shoulder as the two girls walked out of the office hand in hand.

Jen had her right hand in Cuddy's, and her left hand extended – pretending to hold Maddie's hand.

* * *

They walked into the cafeteria and ended up standing behind Wilson in the line.

"Hello Cuddy, who is this?" Wilson asked as he smiled at Jen.

"Why is everybody called-ed you 'Cuddy'?" Jen asked as she tugged on Cuddy's skirt and looked up at her curiously.

"That is my last name," Cuddy said simply with a smile before looking back at Wilson, "This is Jen."

"Nice to meet you, Jen," Wilson said as he extended his hand for her to shake.

Jen looked at him funny, and ran over to him, giving his left leg a hug.

Looking up at him with a smile, she explained, "I hug."

"Hugs are better," Wilson told her as he moved down the line, grabbing a sandwich and pudding on the way.

"That's what Lisa said!" Jen exclaimed excitedly.

Cuddy and Wilson laughed, and Jen pointed to the pudding behind the glass.

"Can I haves some Lisa? Please?" She asked Cuddy as she continued pointing while standing on her tiptoes.

"Sure," Cuddy answered as she paid the woman behind the counter.

"Thanks!" She said with an enormous smile as Cuddy handed her the pudding and a white spoon.

"No problem."

They walked over to an empty table and sat down. Jen and Cuddy sat on one side, and Wilson sat opposite Cuddy.

"Is thats a docta?" Jen asked as she put the spoon in the chocolate pudding and pointed at Cameron wearing her lab coat.

"Yes, that is Dr. Cameron," Cuddy said as she moved the chocolate pudding away from the corner of the table to avoid having to buy another one.

"Whats do docta's do?" Jen asked as she moved her snack back where it was before, and took a spoonful of pudding to eat.

"They help save people," Wilson answered as he started eating his sandwich.

"Oh," Jen sang, as if she finally understood the soul purpose of what being a doctor was.

"Where do babies come from?" She asked as a mother walked by holding her baby girl in her arms.

"Um," Cuddy hesitated.

"They come from a special place inside the mommy's tummy," Wilson improvised as he looked at Cuddy nervously.

She smiled and looked down at Jen, who had found the answer acceptable and continued looking at the different people and doctors in the cafeteria.

"Why does babies hide-ed there?" Jen asked innocently as she stuck the spoon into her mouth.

"They don't hide, they just…sleep…" Cuddy started before looking up to Wilson for assistance.

"Yeah, they sleep until they are ready to wake up and come out," He finished before eating the rest of his sandwich.

"Does they snore? And wake-ed you up?" She asked as she sat on her hands and started swinging her legs while she waited for the answer.

"No, sweetie; they don't," Cuddy answered as she tried not to laugh at the young girl's question.

"But Uncle Greg snores!" She argued as she crossed her arms.

"Uncle Greg?" Wilson asked as he opened his pudding and looked at Cuddy confused.

"Only adults snore, sweetheart," Cuddy told her with a smile, ignoring the confused look on Wilson's face.

"Oh, ok," Jen answered as she finished the last spoonful of her pudding.

Cuddy looked at her watch; it had just turned two, and she was late for her meeting.

"Wilson, can you take Jen to the daycare? I'm late-" Cuddy asked nervously as she stood up from her seat.

"Sure, no problem!" Wilson said as he continued eating his pudding.

"Thank you so much," Cuddy said to Wilson as she stood up before turning to Jen, "I will pick you up from the daycare in a few hours, ok?"

"Ok," Jen replied sulkily.

They watched Cuddy walk briskly out of the cafeteria before Wilson stood up and walked Jen to the daycare, still confused and wondering whom the child belonged to.

She couldn't be Cuddy's…could she?

* * *

Cuddy had finished her afternoon meeting and had gone through some of her paperwork.

Glancing at her watch, she saw that is was just before five; she should pick up Jen and find House before he disappeared.

She fixed her hair quickly as she walked out of her office, and smiled at the nurses and patients she passed.

"Hello Anna, I'm here to pick up Jen," Cuddy said as she peered past the daycare supervisor at the young kids playing with the many toys.

"Sure thing Dr. Cuddy, do you want to come in to get her?" Anna asked with a smile as she opened the half door to allow Cuddy entrance.

"That would be great, thanks." Cuddy walked into the daycare and glanced around the rooms.

"Jen?" Cuddy didn't see the little girl anywhere, and she started to panic.

Questions flooded her brain; _I did ask Wilson to bring her here, right? Where is she? Is she with House? Is she ok? Is she hurt? What if she ran away?_

Anna interrupted her thoughts when she opened a file, "Dr. Wilson signed her in at 2:15pm. And…she hasn't left, as far as we know."

Cuddy rushed around the daycare, but did not find the blonde haired girl anywhere. Pulling out her pager, she sent House a message:

"_Need You,  
__Daycare  
__Now  
_–_C"_

A few minutes later House emerged from the elevators and limped over to Cuddy who was sitting outside of the daycare with her head resting in her hands.

"Ready to go?" He asked with a smirk as he tapped her leg lightly with his cane.

"I'd love to – we are just missing an import member to our crew," She mumbled as she looked down at the floor.

"You lost my niece?!?" He exclaimed shocked.

"No, I didn't _lose_ your niece! Wilson dropped her off at daycare, and…when I went to pick her up she wasn't there!" Cuddy defended herself as she looked around the hallway, hoping Jen would magically appear.

"Wilson? Why Wilson? You know he isn't capable of doing anything," House joked as he leaned on his cane, obviously enjoying Cuddy's desperate need to find the kid.

"And you are, right?" Cuddy asked bitterly.

"Cuddy, take a chill pill – she is a kid, how far could she go?" House told her with a smirk.

* * *

A/N – haha, cliffy :P

So, once again – I will apologize for the long wait…this is the longest chapter I have EVER written…so don't expect one like this anytime soon, lol.

I was trying to find a good scene to finish the chapter…and decided a cliffy would be good :)

Please review! I know I didn't update for a long time…but…I tried!

And I will hopefully update…soon…hopefully sometime early next week…I will try to update as soon as I can, and reviews are loved – because I know that people read it…and liked it…or hated it, you know – that works too…I guess :P

…I am rambling…great – anyways – hope you liked it! haha.


	7. No Surprise

Disclaimer – I do not own House M.D. It all belongs to David Shore and Fox.

~Chapter 7~

"You paged me?" Wilson asked as he emerged from the elevator and walked over to where House and Cuddy were sitting.

"Yes; obviously. I'm assuming you want to know why we paged you, not _if_ we paged you," House said sarcastically as he looked up.

"Ok, _why_ did you page me?" Wilson mumbled as he looked at House expectantly.

"We can't find Jen," Cuddy answered softly as she wiped a stray curl out of her face.

"That's not good," the oncologist said to himself as he ran his hand through his hair and looked down the hallway.

"You did bring her to _this_ daycare…right?" House asked his friend as he pointed to the PPTH daycare sign on the wall.

"Yes."

"Where could she be?" Cuddy asked desperately as she stood up and started pacing.

"In the hospital…" House said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"How do you know? How do you know that she didn't walk outside?" Cuddy exclaimed as she stopped pacing and stared at House while she waited for his answer.

"She's related to me, she isn't stupid," House answered confidently with a smirk.

"Oh look at you, your ego gets bigger by the second!" Cuddy spat in anger.

"Yeah, well – so does your ass, apparently," House announced as he stared at her behind.

Cuddy glared at House to cover her moment of shock and smiled slightly, "Isn't that getting a little old?"

"Maybe, but so are you…so…" House started, but was interrupted by his friend and the gasp from his boss.

"Umm, I know you two are pretty…involved in your argument over there, but…can you please answer your pager? It has been going for the past couple of minutes…" Wilson asked Cuddy loud enough for them to hear.

House and Cuddy turned their heads and looked in his direction confused, until the constant beeping of a pager registered in their ears.

Cuddy quickly pulled her pager out of her pocket while House leaned back against the wall and smirked.

"We have to go to the ER," Cuddy mumbled as she replied and returned the black pager to her pocket.

"But mom! What if I don't want to?" House whined as he added a pout, knowing it wasn't going to change anything, but it was worth the try; and the fact that it pissed her off even more gave him satisfaction like no other.

"House," Wilson warned, not wanting the two to get into another one of their arguments. Whenever they did, it was as if nothing was happening around them, and they were in their own world. If they didn't love each other, he would hate to see what it would look like if they did.

Cuddy rolled her eyes as she turned around on her heel and started leading her colleagues towards the ER. House and Wilson followed, and whenever House opened his mouth to say something, Wilson glared. He didn't care what his friend had to say because he was sure the odds of it being something nice was a million to one.

* * *

When the trio walked into the ER, Cameron rushed their way looking slightly concerned.

"Young girl, blonde hair, blue eyes," Cameron started as she led them past the patients hiding behind curtains for privacy.

"If this is a patient you're describing, I'm outa here," House announced as he turned around. Wilson grabbed his arm to stop him, and House almost fell over in the process.

"Thanks Jimmy, but aren't you supposed to be my _friend_? Friend's don't hurt each other," the diagnostician complained with another pout.

Wilson ignored him, and brought him back to join Cuddy and Cameron who had ignored House completely.

"No, not a patient. Well, I am not sure. She doesn't seem hurt and she doesn't have an ID bracelet. She has been wondering around the ER for a while, we just assumed she was with family…but not many people are left here. We asked and no one knows who she is. She just found the band-aids, and when I asked where her parents were she said they were on vacation," Cameron informed as she led them around a corner, which was where Cuddy froze.

There, sitting across the hall in her own little corner was a little girl sitting cross-legged, wearing white capris and a pink tank top. She had a lollipop in her mouth while she dumped the large box of band-aids onto the floor around her as she watched in amazement.

"Jen, sweetie what are doing here?" Cuddy asked anxiously as she rushed over to the young girl.

"You know her?" Cameron asked confused as she walked over to where Cuddy knelt down beside Jen, and wrapped her in a hug.

"Maddie felled, so I needs-ed to gets her a band-aid. And I gots-ed me a purpo lollipop," Jen explained as she held the lollipop stick with one hand, and picked at the band-aids that were scattered all over the floor.

House rolled his eyes when he heard Jen's story.

"What I mentioned before…Jen may be related to me, but she is an exception. Come to think about it, so is Cuddy."

Wilson looked at his friend puzzled, "Last time I checked, Cuddy wasn't related to you."

"Yeah well, last time you checked I didn't have custody of little miss sunshine over there," House mumbled as he pointed towards his niece.

"What are you saying?" Wilson asked as he watched Cameron picking up the band-aids and Cuddy picking up Jen.

"I'm saying, Jen treats Cuddy like a mom…" House answered slowly.

"What are you going to do about that?" Wilson asked House with a small smile.

"Do you have to act like a therapist?" He asked before shaking his head, "Nothing. I'm not doing anything."

When Wilson didn't respond House added, "Do I need to do something about it?"

"No, it's just you would jump at the chance to piss Cuddy off. Why would this be different?"

"Because it is – they will hate me if I try anything."

"Doesn't Cuddy already h-"

"Yeah I know – been there, done that, bought the t-shirt," House mumbled as he continued watching Cuddy care for Jen. Cameron was still cleaning up, but Cuddy acted as if no one was around.

"How long have you owned that shirt?" Wilson joked as he tried to lighten the mood.

"Shut up."

"Shut up? No sarcastic comment?" Wilson asked as he looked at his friend closely, "Are you ok?"

House ignored him and shouted to Cuddy, "We found the kid, let's go."

Cuddy picked up Jen and carried her over to where the two doctors were standing.

"OK, let's go," She said with a smile as she turned around and walked towards the front door, she wasn't planning on doing any paperwork that night.

"Bye!" Wilson called out before turning to House, "Don't screw this up."

"I already have," House mumbled as he limped after Cuddy and his niece.

Wilson stood there; slightly confused by what his friend meant when he said he has already screwed it up.

"What was that all about? Who is Jen?" Cameron asked as she walked over to join Wilson with a bulging box of band-aids in her hands.

"Not sure, but I think Jen is related to House…she calls him Uncle Greg," Wilson informed with a sigh.

"Why is she with him now? No one could ever trust _him_ with a kid," Cameron asked sceptically.

"Maybe that is why Cuddy is involved…" Wilson suggested with a shrug.

"Why _is_ Cuddy involved?"

Wilson pondered Cameron's question for a moment before sighing.

"Guess we will just have to find out…"

* * *

"I will take Jen with me in my car, I don't want her riding on your motorcycle," Cuddy told House as soon as they reached the parking lot.

"Awe come on Cuddles, I bought her a little spawn helmet – do you have to ruin everything?" House whined as he walked with Cuddy towards her car.

"House, she is four!" She exclaimed as she looked down at Jen who was still on her arms, with her head resting on Cuddy's shoulder, "and she is sleeping – there is no way I am letting her on a motorcycle with you."

"Fine," House mumbled as they reached Cuddy's Audi.

Cuddy had the car keys in her jacket pocket, so when she came near the car it automatically unlocked.

She opened the back door with her spare hand while House was on the other side of the car and opened up the passenger door. She got Jen settled and buckled in before closing the door and looked around to find House gone. She shook her head and went into the driver's seat, "Boo," House said in a deep voice, causing Cuddy to jump.

"What are you doing?" She asked with a look of disgust.

"Sitting, breathing, thinking of where to put my cane," House told her smugly as he held up his wooden aid as proof.

"Let me be more specific – what are you doing _in my car_."

"Umm, waiting for you to drive?"

"Get out – you can take your motorcycle," Cuddy told him angrily as she took a deep breath so she didn't carry on and wake up Jen who was sleeping peacefully behind her.

"Can't – it's at home. Just drive," he mumbled as he put his cane in the backseat beside his niece.

Cuddy looked at him curiously, but listened to him and pushed the button that turned the car on. The engine roared, she reversed, and drove out of the parking lot.

"Why is your motorcycle at home?" Cuddy asked softly as she stared at the traffic lights that shone a bright poppy red against the dark blue sky.

"Took a cab," He answered as he avoided eye contact and continued to stare out of his passenger window and analyze the people driving past.

"Why?"

"Like you said, Cuddy; Jen is four – I am not going to take her with me on my motorcycle," House told her defensively.

"Ok, but why did you take a cab? Don't you have a car?" She asked him slightly confused by why he would take a cab if he had other ways of transportation.

"I was drunk," He answered matter-of-factly.

"Nice try, why don't you try the truth this time," Cuddy answered with a classical eye-roll.

House sighed, "You are just like Wilson; do you two have secret club meetings while I'm not there? Can I join?" He asked childishly.

When Cuddy ignored him, he shook his head, "Car is having a service, charging me 500 bucks for something I could have done myself."

"Turn here?" Cuddy asked as she changed the subject and pointed ahead of them.

"Yeah. Nice cover up, by the way," House said with a smirk.

Cuddy just sighed, "I'm not covering up anything."

"You know where I live," He answered as he stared at her facial profile, waiting for her to look back at him.

"I forgot," She mumbled as she turned onto his street and parked in front of his apartment.

"Liar," He sang as he grabbed his cane from behind and opened the door. "I will bring her stuff out in a minute...unless of course you want to come in," House said suggestively.

"I will stay right here, thanks," She said as she rested her elbow on the door and twirled her hair as she waited patiently for House to leave.

"Actually, I need you to take some stuff…I'm a little gimped."

"We can't leave Jen in the car by herself," Cuddy said as she tried to find a reason to stay in the car.

"Take her inside then," He answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Fine," Cuddy answered hotly with a sigh as he undid her seatbelt and got out of the car into the cold night air.

She carefully took Jen out of the car so she wouldn't wake her, and walked around the car to the sidewalk.

House opened the door and stood to the side as he held the door open for his boss.

He was expecting her to reach the top and walk through the door, but what he wasn't expecting was for her to trip on the very first step and fall.

He hoped Cuddy would get up and say she was fine, but instead he got a cry from Jen who was lying down on the steps beside her.

House bent down despite the protest from his leg and shook Cuddy slightly, "Cuddy? Are you ok?"

* * *

A/N – So…I tried to update early this week, but…well, it didn't work so well. Haha. Hope you enjoyed this chap! Review and tell me what you think :)


	8. Tracks of My Tears

Disclaimer – I do not own House M.D. It all belongs to David Shore and Fox.

~Chapter 8~

Walking up the steps towards House was a simple action – one that she could not accomplish. She felt a pang in her ankle, and then saw the tiled floor fly closer towards her face.  
She tried to lean on her right side so she wouldn't land on Jen who was sleeping on her left.  
The last thing she heard was a painful scream from the little girl who fell beside her.  
_Thank God, I didn't fall on her_, Cuddy thought before her sight became blurry, and everything around her became black.

"Cuddy?" A voice asked as they moved a stray curl out of her face.

She opened her eyes slowly and saw House's face above hers.

"Is Jen OK?" she asked nervously as she sat up, only to find herself lying comfortably on a large bed.

"She is fine, she is downstairs making breakfast," House answered as he looked at her slightly confused, "Are you alright?"

"I-I fell, and I was holding Jen, and, and, her scream!" she stuttered, still frightened from what had happened.

"I think you just had a bad dream," House said softly.

A duet of crying could be heard across the hall, and House grabbed his cane and stood up, "Can you come…"

Cuddy nodded and got out of bed, putting on the same white gown as before.

* * *

Upon entering the hallway, Cuddy had a strange sense of déjà vu. _This can't be the same dream twice,_ she thought as she closed her eyes and shook her head.

When she opened her eyes once again, she was in the nursery with House, who motioned towards the baby boy crying in the crib beside her.

"Hey Chris," She whispered softly to the little baby as she picked him up and held him close, his crying came to a stop immediately when she held him.

House picked up Kate and held her with his left arm as he started limping towards the stairs. Cuddy followed him curiously, and stopped a couple feet behind him.

"JEN!" House shouted down the stairs.

"Yeah," Jen asked as she appeared at the bottom of the stairs with a dishtowel in her hands.

"I need two bottles, Lisa's evil spawns just woke up," House said with a smirk as he turned around to see Cuddy look at him disapprovingly.

"Excuse me? _My_ evil spawns?" Cuddy asked in shock.

"Well yeah," He mumbled as he walked back to the nursery.

Cuddy stood in the hallway confused; and went downstairs with Chris where she met Jen in the kitchen.

"What did he mean, _my_ 'evil spawns'?" Cuddy asked as she looked at Jen slightly hurt.

"Well, they aren't his…" Jen started as she flipped the pancakes in the pan.

"What do you mean they aren't his?" Cuddy asked in complete shock as she placed Chris in the playpen nearby.

"Well, you tried IVF again….and twins was the result," Jen told her matter-of-factly as she placed the finished pancake on the plate beside the stove.

"I-I what? B-but he is looking after them," Cuddy paused, "Why is he looking after them?"

"Because he wanted to be with you, but you wanted a family. You pressured him to agree, and he wasn't sure if he wants to do the 'kid-thing' again – you both raised me," She looked up at Cuddy, "and, why don't you remember this?"

"JEN!" House called once again, a little more irritated this time. They could hear Kate's crying coming from the nursery, and Cuddy didn't know what to do.

"Coming!" She called back as she grabbed a pre-made bottle from the fridge and placed it in the microwave quickly. When it beeped, she checked the bottle's milk temperature on her wrist and ran upstairs.

Cuddy remained in the kitchen, slightly confused. She was thinking about the new information Jen had given her moments before, when a constant tapping on the floor brought her back to earth.

"You don't want them?" Was the first thing she asked. She didn't really know what to say, but that was the first thing that came to her mind.

"What do you mean," He asked her as he cocked an eyebrow. Cuddy walked over to the playpen and looked down at the little baby waving his arms at her.

"Our kids," Cuddy answered softy as Chris grabbed hold of her index finger and held on tight. She looked up at House and heard him sigh as he came over to her.

"They are yours; you know that," He shrugged, "It's what you wanted."

"I can't believe you! You are such an ass!" Cuddy yelled at him as she stepped away from the playpen and stormed away.

"What are you talking about?" House asked in confusion as he limped after her.

"You don't want kids! You always knew how badly I wanted them, and now that I have kids you don't know if you want them as well," Cuddy said visibly hurt as tears threatened to fall down her face.

"So, you don't want me? You just want your _precious_ little babies?" House snapped back.

"I didn't say that-"

"Fine, I'm outa here," House said angrily as he grabbed his jacket and keys before limping as fast as he could out of the front door.

"What's going on?" Jen asked as she walked down the stairs with Kate in her arms.

"Is he going to come back?" Cuddy asked between sobs as she knelt down to the floor.

Jen rushed into the kitchen and placed Kate in the playpen before rushing back to Cuddy's side.

"Of course, what happened?" She asked softly as she embraced Cuddy in a hug and encouraged her to stand up.

"We had a fight – I asked him why he didn't want the kids," Cuddy cried into Jen's shoulder regretting what happened between her and House.

"Oh Lisa, you know he really wants them – a couple months ago he was going through one of his I'm-not-going-to-be-a-good-dad and I'm-a-drug-addict phase. Plus, you too have gone over it already – he told you he wanted the kids," Jen said calmly.

"But you said-"

"I said you pressured him to have kids – he was going through all these issues when you were pregnant. As soon as the twins were born, he tried his best to be a good dad. Why don't you remember any of this? Are you ok?" Jen asked when Cuddy just gave her a blank look.

Cuddy just shook her head and walked into the living room where she curled herself into a ball on the couch.

"I'm going to go find him, he is probably at Uncle Jimmy's place," Jen told Cuddy as she gave her a reassuring squeeze on the arm.

When Cuddy heard the door shut, realization donned on her. She was alone.

She tried to calm herself down, but her body wouldn't let her.

Just the thought that the only man she had ever truly loved would leave and never come back terrified her.

_He is going to come back…right?_ She tried to comfort herself as she stared at the front door hoping he would magically appear, and pretend nothing happened between them.

* * *

Cuddy opened her eyes as she woke up from her dream. She immediately closed her eyes against the bright light shining into her eyes. Her heart was racing, and her eyes were damp. She had been crying.

"Cuddy?" A deep voice asked worriedly.

_Wilson_, she thought as she slowly opened her eyes. When hers were met with a terrified pair of blue, she almost screamed. It was him – House – he reminded her of her dream and she turned her head away in an effort to avoid seeing those deep blue eyes. She couldn't, not now.

"Cuddy, I -" he paused and ran his hand across his face, "I have some, uh, bad news."

"What do you mean? Why am I here?" Cuddy asked as she took in her surroundings. She was in the ER…in her hospital. _How embarrassing_, she thought as she shook her head.

"You…fell…" House mumbled.

"How is she? I didn't fall hard, did I?" Cuddy said as he eyes grew large with anticipation.

"She is fine; she broke her arm – open fracture – she is in surgery now. But you, uh, got a concussion, bruised a couple ribs, and, uh…had a miscarriage." He said the last part quickly since he knew how much this news would devastate her. He didn't know she was pregnant, and she didn't have the usual glow about her when she found out she was pregnant. The test showed that she was almost at three weeks, and he wondered how long she had known.

He braced himself as he waited for the waterworks to run, but they didn't come – not yet at least.

"I-I was…" She asked in shock as she looked down at her stomach. When her hand touched her stomach, she immediately took it away. That is when the tears came.

"I couldn't have been!" She cried, "I took the test, a-and it was negative!"

"I'm sorry," House barely whispered before limping away from her bed and closing the curtain behind him, looking away when he saw her burry her head in her hands and sob. She didn't deserve it, and even though he would deny it, it pained him to see her like that.

* * *

A/N - awwe, so sad :( hope you all enjoyed it!


	9. Hanging by a Moment

Disclaimer – I do not own House M.D. It all belongs to David Shore and Fox.

~Chapter 9~

"How are you feeling?" Wilson asked as he walked into her hospital room. House had ordered a CT scan and she was scheduled to have it done in a few minutes.

Cuddy just shook her head as she closed her eyes trying to hide the tears. She couldn't trust her voice.

It had been twenty minutes since House had given her the news, and she was devastated.

"House told me everything," Wilson told her softly as he walked up to her bed.

"If you need anything-" he started with a smile.

Cuddy just nodded frantically. "Thanks," She whispered.

A group of nurses walked into the room and Wilson walked out to give them space. He stood in the hall and watched the nurses pull her hospital bed out of the room and down the hall.

* * *

"House, what happened to Cuddy?" Wilson asked as he stormed into his friend's office. He told Cuddy that House had already told him what happened, but he lied.

Cuddy was too upset to tell him anything, and he would rather pester his one friend than upset his other friend anymore than she already was.

"She fell," He said simply. He was sitting behind his desk with his legs up on top of a pile of papers. The super-sized tennis ball was being tossed high above his head at a steady rhythm.

"There is more to that story, and I know it. What really, happened House? She is very upset – that can't be from a simple fall," Wilson argued as he walked closer to his friend.

"She was holding Jen," House told him as he let his feet fall to the floor, pushing the papers off his desk in the process.

"Foreman can clean that up," He added with a well-known smirk.

Wilson shook his head, "What makes you think he will clean up _your_ mess? Is Jen ok?"

"Of course he would – I am his boss. She was in shock because she was sleeping when they fell. Broke her left arm, open fracture, she is in surgery now," He said as he popped a few pills carelessly.

"Ok and what about Cuddy. She would be upset about hurting Jen, but not this bad – she is acting like she did the last time she had a-" Wilson froze.

"When she fell her head hit the tile floor, and suffered minor blunt head trauma. She twisted her ankle, which is what caused the fall…and she is going to have a CT scan to make sure nothing else is wrong since she went unconscious after the fall," House informed as he looked down at the floor and played with the amber vial containing his little white pills.

"That's not all, House – what else happened?" Wilson persisted as he slammed his hand on his friend's desk, effectively making House look at him in the eye.

"She had a miscarriage," House mumbled.

"How far along was she?" Wilson asked as concern washed over his face.

"Test said three weeks, apparently she didn't know, she told me the home pregnancy test came back negative."

"She must be devastated!" Wilson exclaimed, as his eyes grew wide.

House looked at the floor, not feeling like he wanted to meet Wilson's eyes.

"Yeah," the Diagnostician muttered, "she is devastated."

With that, he stood up, leaving the room and a still shell-shocked Wilson in his wake.

* * *

Cuddy lay still on the skinny platform as she waited for Foreman, Kutner and Taub to start the CT scan. House had made sure he was in charge of everything that was going on with her and Jen. She didn't really know why, but she didn't really care. She didn't have some random unknown disease that he had to diagnose within 72 hours. She just fell and hit her head. Any doctor would be able to run these tests.  
She shook her head and rubbed her temples as she tried not to think of the accident anymore. She hurt herself, she hurt Jen, and more importantly, she lost her baby. Her life was a never-ending cycle of mockery and crushed dreams.

"Ok, Dr. Cuddy…you know the drill," Foreman said through the intercom as Cuddy just nodded in response.

The platform then moved deep inside the tunnel and Cuddy closed her eyes as she waited for the process to be over.

"So…Cuddy fell and hit her head?" Taub asked curiously, as he looked up from the computer screen showing up-to-date pictures of their boss' brain.

"Yup, and did you hear about the little girl who came into the ER? She is in surgery for an open fracture?" Kutner asked before continuing.

Taub nodded, "What about her?" He looked up at Kutner suddenly, "…wait, didn't she break her arm from a fall?" He added as he arched his eyebrow in suspicion.

"Yeah, and the ER nurses claim Cuddy was carrying her when she fell."

"Why was Cuddy-" Taub started, but Kutner interrupted him.

"House is overseeing all of their medical procedures, and is the medical proxy for both of them," Kutner informed with a small smile.

"You don't think…" Taub mumbled, as his eyes grew wide.

"Guys, calm down – you two do realize it isn't their kid, right?" Foreman asked them as he shook his head in disbelief.

"What are you talking about? Of course it is their kid!" Kutner told Foreman with a frown before turning back to Taub, "There is a new hospital pool going on, you gonna bid?"

Taub nodded and was about to say something when they heard a muffled voice shout out, "Isn't this supposed to be done by now? What is going on over there?!"

Kutner quickly pushed the button that slowly moved the skinny platform out of the confined tunnel and stood up nervously.

As soon as the platform was fully ejected, Cuddy sat up straight and glared at the three doctors.

"If you're going to gossip, go to the nurse's station – don't do it here. Please," She told them before getting off the bed and walking out of the room.

Kutner ran out of the booth and tried to stop her, "You shouldn't go by yourself – you could be lightheaded or-"

"I am fine," Cuddy snapped as she turned around and walked down the hall.

"Could she hear us?" Kutner asked as he walked back into the booth.

"No," Taub answered as he shook his head for extra emphasis.

"Doctors gossip once and a while, and she probably thought when we didn't communicate with her or anything that we were gossiping…" Foreman tried to reason as he shrugged and

walked out of the room, followed by Taub and Kutner.

* * *

Cuddy walked briskly down the hall to the elevators. She didn't need to have a chaperone on the way to her hospital room, she was fine.

She waited for a few moments before the elevator opened, and a couple nurses walked out, smiling at their boss as they walked past.

Cuddy walked in, and suddenly felt lightheaded. She tried to lean forward and push the button to her floor, but found all the luminous numbers seemed to blur together, resembling a

Christmas tree of lights.

She quickly pushed a button she thought was the right floor and leaned back against the far wall. When the elevator suddenly moved up towards the unknown floor, she felt nauseas

and had an intense headache.

_You have _got_ to be kidding_, she thought as she supported herself with her hands, which had suddenly become sweaty.

House limped out of his office and made his way to the elevators. He was going to check up on his team and see how Cuddy and Jen were doing. His niece should be almost out of

surgery, and then she would be in recovery for a couple of hours.

He pushed the down button and waited for the elevator doors to open and allow him access to the small confined space.

The elevator doors opened and he was shocked to find Cuddy lying down on the floor in her hospital gown.

She heard the elevator doors open, and lifted her upper body slightly and looked up to see who was standing there. Her face was pale, and slightly damp, causing a few stay curls to

stick to her flushed cheeks.

"Cuddy?" He asked as he took a hesitant step forward.

She nodded, and the elevators started to close. House stuck his cane in-between the elevator doors, causing them to open once again and then he walked to her side.

"Why are you by yourself?" He asked her as he felt her forehead, she was normal.

"I was fine," She mumbled as she looked up at him innocently. Her vision wasn't blurry anymore, and she was slightly grateful that House found her in this state and no one else.

"Cuddy, you are not fine. You went to med school – you know the effects of head trauma. Stop acting like this," House told her sternly as the elevator doors closed.

He pushed the button to take them to her floor, and extended his hand.

"Stand up, it's going to be hard crawling to your room…walking is much less embarrassing," He told her sarcastically.

She reached for his hand and pulled her self up, using the elevator wall for support.

"Thanks," She whispered.

He ignored her and concentrated on the elevator doors in front of him as he waited for them to arrive at her floor.

* * *

"How is Jen doing?" Cuddy asked nervously. She was lying in her bed, safely inside her patient room. The nurse left a few minutes ago, and she was trying to cut the silence between the

two of them. House was standing in the corner of the room, occasionally glancing at the various steady-peeping monitors positioned beside her.

"She just got out of surgery," He told her with a shrug.

"She is all alone?" Cuddy asked slightly concerned.

"Well, we are both here…so, yes – the term would be _alone_."

"I'm going to go see her," Cuddy announced as she started getting out of bed.

House rolled his eyes and limped over to her. He held his cane out in front of his boss and smirked when she looked at him angrily.

"You're not going anywhere – don't you remember what happened to you a mere five minutes ago?"

"So, when Jen wakes up she is going to be confused and scared – I want to be there!"

"She is in your hospital, surrounded by doctors and nurses you hired; calm down," House told her as he brought down his cane and limped out of the room, not giving her a chance to

respond.

* * *

A/N - hope you liked it! Please review...when you do it gets me encouraged to write more...plus, I really want to know what you think! :)


	10. You Found Me

Disclaimer – I do not own House M.D. It all belongs to David Shore and Fox.

~Chapter 10~

Cuddy waited until House disappeared down the hallway before she sneaked out and made her way towards the elevator.

She was walking slowly to try to avoid causing a scene and being stuck in the elevator again.

Smiling slightly, she pushed the down arrow and waited for the elevator doors to open.

When she went inside, she was met with a familiar face looking intently at her.

"How are you feeling?" Wilson asked with a small smile as Cuddy leant forward and pushed the button to Jen's floor.

"I'm fine, thanks," Cuddy responded kindly. She hoped House hadn't told him about her incident…

"That's good, are you going to go see Jen?" Wilson responded as he leaned back against the wall relaxed.

Cuddy breathed a sigh of relief, but felt a pang of guilt at the mention of Jen's name.

She just nodded and cast her eyes downward, picking at the plain hospital gown she was forced to wear. Now she understood why patients hated these things.

"I want to be there when she wakes up," She told him honestly as the elevator dinged, signalling the arrival to her floor.

"That's nice of you, I'm sure she will be scared with no one there," Wilson told her and paused.

"Well, aren't you going to go see her?" He asked when she didn't make an effort to leave his side.

"Yes, thank you Wilson," Cuddy told him with a smile as she walked out and made her way to the Pediatric ward.

* * *

House made his way down the hallway towards the elevators. He had paged his team to run through Cuddy's CT scan results, but they had all replied with _'having dinner'_ in four different ways.

_Typical_, he mumbled as he entered the tiny enclosed space and pushed 'M' for main floor.

When he exited the elevators, he smirked at what he saw. A crowd of doctors and nurses was forming around the nurses' station, and he was almost positive it wasn't because they

were eager to do their clinic hours.

"What is the hospital pool this week? Are we betting on if Dr's Foreman and Hadley will break up? Or if Dr Taub will cheat on his wife? Or…" He gasped in feign shock, "Are you going to

see how long I can last without Vicodin?" He pretended to think about it for a moment and popped a pill. He waited five seconds before popping another.

Shrugging he turned to the group, "You might wanna get your money back for that one."

The group shook their heads as they continued to pay the nurse behind the desk.

House frowned; slightly irritated that he was being ignored.

"Outa the way – I'm coming through!" House shouted as he pushed people aside until he reached the desk counter. Grabbing a red lollipop, he turned to the nurse, "What is the pool

topic."

"The little girl Cuddy was holding when she fell," the nurse answered while writing down names and the amount of cash the doctors had given on a piece of paper, not realizing who was

asking the question.

"And…." House pushed.

"And…the pool is if you think she is the child of House and Cuddy," she answered quickly as she looked up and stopped when she saw House.

"Oh, um-" she stuttered as she bit her bottom lip nervously.

"I bet $100 that it _is_ their child," House told her casually as he placed a couple $20 bills on the desk before walking away.

She watched him walk away before neatly writing his name down and his amount along with all the others, slightly stunned by his bid.

House made his way over to the dark and quiet cafeteria to find his team eating at a table in the far corner.

Smirking, he stood still, placed his hands on his hips and said in a high pitched, girly voice, "You, my office, NOW!"

His team looked up slightly shocked, and tried not to laugh when they saw him.

Watching their reaction, House spontaneously decided that he enjoyed mimicking his boss. Turning around on his left heel, he limped out of the cafeteria as fast as he possibly could.

Shaking their heads in disbelief, they grabbed their trays and followed him to his office.

All four of the ducklings sat down in various chairs at the glass table. They munched on their food while they waited for House to tell them what to do.

Instead of walking over to the whiteboard and writing down various points of information, he just stood there, watching them.

After a few silent moments, he tapped his cane against his shoe, quietly debating what he should do. As if coming to an agreement with himself, he looked up at them.

"While you all eat your food, I am going to get some more pills," House informed as he left the room.

"He's not really getting pills is he," Thirteen asked sceptically once their boss disappeared down the hall.

"Nope," Kutner mumbled as he shook his head for added emphasis.

"Not a chance," Taub agreed as he looked out into the hall.

Foreman just shrugged as he continued to eat the fries on his tray.

* * *

He limped down the hall towards Cuddy's private room. The blinds were closed, and he tried to peek through to see if she was awake or not.

He was going to talk to her to see if she was having any more symptoms before they checked the CT scan results.

Well, that was going to be his excuse – he really just wanted to see her. He would never admit it, but he felt…guilty.

She was helping _him_ when she fell, she was carrying _his_ niece, and because of him…she lost _her_ baby. He knew how badly she wanted a kid, and he was the one that ended up taking

that chance away from her.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and thought about everything that had happened to her in the past 24 hours. He was surprised she hasn't had a complete mental breakdown.

He opened the sliding glass door slowly and walked in, quietly closing the door behind him.

Frowning, he looked around the room in frustration. She wasn't there. He made his way over to her bed and stared at the empty space in the wrinkled blankets, the space her petit body

should be occupying. House stayed there for a few moments, as if staring at the bed would magically make her appear there.

Shaking his head, he limped out of the empty room and made his way back to the elevators. He had an idea where she might be.

* * *

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" Cuddy asked the little girl softly as she approached her bedside.

Jen recently woke up from the general anaesthesia, and was just brought into the room by a couple of nurses.

The walls were decorated with a variety of Disney characters holding different medical supplies. It was an idea some of the in-patients had come up with, and the parents used them to

distract their children. There was another patient sleeping on the other side of the room, and Cuddy was glad the parents weren't by his side – she wasn't in the mood to explain how

she was to blame for Jen's injuries and her own.

"I feel funny," She slurred as her head rolled to the side to attempt to see Cuddy at a better angle.

Her left arm was wrapped almost completely with various dressings, covered by a sock-like wrap. An IV drip was hooked into the back of her right hand, with a slightly damp, beige cloth

wrapped around it. A rectangular piece of foam was placed against her palm, underneath the cloth, to prevent her from moving her hand too much.

"Yes, the medicine does that. Don't worry, you will feel better soon," Cuddy reassured with a smile as she tucked a strand of hair out of the young girl's face.

Jen nodded slowly, and Cuddy gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"I'm sorry," Cuddy choked up slightly, not able to elaborate, "Why don't you try to go to sleep. It will make you feel better," she whispered into Jen's ear.

Jen mumbled something almost inaudible and smiled before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Cuddy sighed and lightly held Jen's small hand in her own as she pulled the chair closer and sat down.

"What are you doing?" House practically shouted as he stormed into the room.

"Shh, you're going to wake her up!" Cuddy said quietly as she sent a death glare in his direction.

"I said; what are you doing?" He repeated in the same tone, but this time he said it slightly quieter.

"I wanted to be with her," Cuddy defended herself as she looked back at Jen who was sound asleep.

"I told you to stay in your room. Right now you are a patient at this hospital, and I happen to be your proxy; which means-"

"Which means they have to go to you before doing a medical procedure," Cuddy interrupted with a sigh.

"You can't boss me around just because you happen to be my proxy. Don't forget, when I am out of this gown I am _your_ boss, and you'd better watch out."

"Oooh, I am _so_ scared," House said sarcastically as he limped closer to her.

"Come on, we are going to go over your CT scan results. I don't want to search the whole hospital for you."

"I will be here. That's not too hard to remember for a world renowned diagnostician…is it?"

"_I_ won't be finding you, my team will – to ask questions…that sorta thing. It would be hard for _them_ to find you. Unless of course they already found out about the hospital pool…then

that's a different story," House announced with a shrug as he walked out.

"What hospital pool – House!" Cuddy called out before sighing in defeat. The last thing she wanted was for his team members to find her here. She was curious about the hospital pool

House mentioned, but she really didn't want to leave Jen's side.

Rolling her eyes, she rose from the chair and silently left the room.

"How is our patient?" House asked casually as he walked back into the Differential Room. They were all finished their meals, and had the trays stacked on top of each other by the

microwave.

"You mean Cuddy?" Taub asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"No, I mean you," House said sarcastically as he walked into his office, and placed the CT images on the wall mounted x-ray viewer.

When they didn't follow him, his head appeared behind the glass.

"This would be much easier if you could all see what I am looking at. Imagination is very useful – if you are a writer."

The ducklings sighed as they got up from their seats and walked single file into House's office.

"What do you see," House asked as he twirled his cane in his hand as he leaned back onto his desk.

"Cuddy's brain?" Kutner asked with a smirk.

"Obviously," Thirteen mumbled before turning to House, "She went unconscious when she fell, right?"

House ignored her, limped closer to the bright pictures, and rubbed his temples.

"Get an OR and surgical team ready – stat."

* * *

A/N – CLIFFY!

Haha, I love those :P

anyways – I hope you guys liked this chap…even though it took me a while.

I had a slight case of writer's block – you know…like….when you know what you wanna write…you just don't know how to write it?

Arrgh; so annoying. lol.

Please review!


	11. What About Now

A/N – Ok, so as you may of already guessed…I am not a doctor (I really want to become one though, haha) and, most – if not all – of the medical info in here will probably be wrong.

Disclaimer – I do not own House M.D. It all belongs to David Shore and Fox.

~Chapter 11~

"_What do you see," House asked as he twirled his cane in his hand as he leaned back onto his desk. _

"_Cuddy's brain?" Kutner asked with a smirk._

"_Obviously," Thirteen mumbled before turning to House, "She went unconscious when she fell, right?"_

_House ignored her, limped closer to the bright pictures, and rubbed his temples. _

"_Get an OR and surgical team ready – stat." _

* * *

"What for?" Taub asked curiously, as he went up-close and personal with the x-rays, trying to find out what

was wrong.

"She has intercerebral hematoma," House told him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Pushing Taub out of the way, House pointed to a couple spots on Cuddy's brain.

"We need to operate to remove the blood before it becomes a contusion."

The four team members stood there, slightly in shock as they continued to look at the images.

"Is that what you learned in medical school? _Stare at the X-ray images, and a picture will appear!_ What do you see this time? A sloth? Because, it certainly fits the scene – you are all so slow!" House exclaimed before rolling his eyes and leaving the room.

When House disappeared down the hall, his team continued looking at the pictures, not quite sure what to do. They could see the intercerebral hematoma, but it didn't look too severe…so why was House freaking out over something so minor?

Rolling her eyes, Thirteen mumbled something almost inaudible.

"What?" Kutner asked.

"No wonder he is freaking out – this is _Cuddy_ we are talking about," she told Kutner with a sigh as she walked out of the room and ventured down the hall.

Before they could say anything, their pagers started to beep.

"It's House -" Taub said aloud as he started to read the message.

"He wants to know -" Kutner interrupted as he looked over at Foreman.

"If we scheduled an OR and surgical team," Foreman interrupted with a sigh and added, "I can read too, thanks." He then walked over to House's desk phone and booked the OR.

* * *

"Call me a genius!" House exclaimed as he limped into Cuddy's room. She was sitting in her bed, leaning back against a couple of pillows propped up against the bed frame. She looked up slightly confused and raised an eyebrow. In her hands was a book, House guessed it was some soppy romance novel to make up for her own 'pathetic' one.

She had gone through as many boyfriends as he had hookers, probably more if he counted – but granted, he was far too lazy.

"Excuse me?" Cuddy asked as she looked down at the book to memorize the page number, closed the cover, and placed it on the bedside table along with her cell phone and a white  
vase displaying blue daisies.

"Intercerebral Hematoma," He answered confidently as he sat down in the chair beside Cuddy's bed.

Cuddy just looked at him blankly.

"Let me rephrase this: _YOU have_ intercerebral hematoma,"

"I figured," Cuddy answered with a classical eye roll.

"So…"

"So…" Cuddy mimicked with a smirk.

House didn't respond, instead he rested his head on his cane and averted his gaze to the floor.

"You're not mad?" He asked softly as he looked back at her.

She was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered. Did he actually bring his guard down, in front of her?

"No, of course not. Why would I be?" She asked using the same tone he used moments before.

"If I were you I'd be pretty pissed," He said, back to the original gruff 'House' voice.

"Why?" She asked calmly, trying to let him bring his guard down again.

"You lost your spawn, and got brain trauma…not that I would care too much about the spawn…" He told her sarcastically. Cuddy closed her eyes and sighed. He did two things she prayed he wouldn't do:

1) Mention her baby – _baby_, not spawn, and…

2) He brought his guard back up as fast as he had let it down. Why did it have to be so confusing and complicated between them?

"Yeah," She barely whispered.

"My team is scheduling the surgery…because if we don't, well, you wouldn't the blood to cause a brain contusion," House told her with a smirk.

Cuddy smiled, "I guess not."

House stood up, and started to walk away. The sound of the constant thumping of his cane in sync with his step dimishing the farther he went.

"What happened to 'my team will find you'," She asked him with a faint, knowing smile.

"We already diagnosed you, and they are busy," He defended as he walked away, not giving her any time to respond. If she did, he didn't bother trying to hear what she was saying.

* * *

"So, did you manage to do something useful for once?" House asked as he limped into the Differential Room and looked around at each member of his team.

"You mean scheduling an OR and surgical team? Yeah we did that," Taub answered as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

House just looked at him before rolling his eyes, "Yeah, and…"

Taub and Kutner looked at each other blankly, and Thirteen raised an eyebrow before Foreman answered while checking his watch, "The surgery is…in about twenty-five minutes."

"So what are you doing _here_?" House asked as he slammed his cane into the floor for added emphasis.

"What do you mean?" Thirteen asked, slightly irritated.

"Well, our patient is going into surgery in less than thirty minutes…I suggest you go tell her so when the nurse comes in she isn't too shocked," He answered slightly sarcastically as he leaned heavily on his cane, obviously waiting for them to leave.

"Weren't you _just_ with our patient?" Taub asked as he leaned forward, rested his arms on the table, and looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I didn't know when the surgery was planned – let alone _if_ you had booked it or not…so scram!"

The team quickly stood up from their seats and walked out of the door single file, none of them daring to glance back at their boss.

* * *

A/N – I know this is short, but I am going to post the next chap in like, 10 min. haha. don't forget to vote on my poll on my profile! I have only been updating this fic lately, and I don't know which one you want me to update next…so…VOTE!


	12. Breakdown

Disclaimer – I do not own House M.D. It all belongs to David Shore and Fox.

~Chapter 12~

Cuddy watched as he left her room, and couldn't help but smile slightly. He really cared about her…but showed it in his own unusual way.

She looked back at her novel, and sunk back into her pillow. If her life were a book, she figured she would be in the climax area of the plot, and according to all the other novels she read, that meant that a happy ending would be appearing shortly…right?

Either that or she wasn't at the climax, and was going to encounter some 'turn of events' for good or worse sometime soon. She sighed, and hoped that whatever was coming her way that she would be able to get through it without too much damage – she had already been through a lot.

Shaking her head, she slipped deeper under the covers and dug the side of her face into the pillow, trying not to notice the sterile 'hospital' smell she inhaled in the process.

* * *

She lay lifelessly on the couch, all the lights were turned off, and a soft canopy of light shone from the kitchen into the entrance of the living room. Soft crying could be heard, but she didn't want to move.

A pair of lights shone across the window, and illuminated her curled up body for only a split second, before disappearing almost as quickly as it appeared. She opened her eyes slowly; she was almost positive her eyes were slightly red and puffy from the crying. Her head felt stuffed up, and her sinuses felt blocked. She heard some talking take place outside, and some slamming of car doors.  
Not wanting anyone to see her in the state she was in, she quickly sat up and started to make her way to the stairs, her left hand supporting her weight on the wall.

Before she could make it however, the front door swung open, causing the crying to become louder and a couple octaves higher. She looked away and rubbed her temples to try to relieve the headache that started to increase with each passing moment.

"I found him -" Jen started, but once she saw Lisa leaning against the wall she rushed to her side.

"Lisa, are you ok?"

Tears came to her eyes once again as she shook her head. She didn't know why she was so emotional, all she knew was she wanted to be with House again and have him tell her everything was going to be ok.

Jen grabbed Cuddy's left arm and draped it over her shoulder's as she helped support her weight. Jen began leading Cuddy towards the stairs when House emerged through the door.  
"What happened to you?" he asked as he eyed her up and down. He could tell she had been crying, and she looked like an absolute wreck.

Jen opened her mouth to tell him to go see the kids when Cuddy slowly brought her arm from around Jen's shoulders, back to her side. She took a hesitant step forward, before rushing to him.

He stood there, slightly in shock as Cuddy held onto him and cried into his chest, before leaning his cane against the wall and wrapping his arms around her.

Jen smiled softly and walked to the kitchen to tend to the crying twins.

"I'm sorry Lise," House whispered into her ear. Cuddy just held onto him tighter; as she took a deep breath to calm down.

"I-I thought I lost you," She told him as she looked up into his eyes.

This made House furrow his brows slightly, before sighing and bringing her over to the couch. He sat down and leaned against the armrest as Cuddy leaned against him with her head resting on his chest. The steady beat of his heart seemed to reassure her that he really was there.

"You know I would never leave you, right?" House asked as he rubbed her shoulder and added a reassuring squeeze.

"But-" She started.

"Shh, I just went to talk to Wilson. He went on his usual lecture on what I should do, which always ends up with me coming back home and 'talking it out' with you. Then Jen arrived and told me to come home immediately. So I did," House told her honestly, as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"The twins-"

"I do try, you know, to be a good dad. I don't know why you can't remember anything….but please believe me, I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to."

Cuddy smiled and nodded into his chest as he wiped away her tears.

* * *

"Cuddy?"

She slowly opened her eyes and saw House's team surrounding her bed.

"Mmhm," she mumbled as she rubbed her eyes.

"We just wanted to tell you that your surgery is scheduled in about…twenty minutes or so," Foreman said as he glanced at his watch.

"You have Intercerebrel Hematoma," Taub informed.

"Yes, I know about the hematoma – House told me. Did all four of you need to come and tell me about the surgery? She asked as she eyed them all suspiciously.

"We just wanted to make sure you were ok," Thirteen said honestly, as she looked at her coworkers who nodded in conformation.

"Thank-you, I am doing well," She told them simply, hoping they would leave her alone. She wasn't in the mood to chit-chat.

"Ok, well…I guess we will see you in twenty," Kutner said with a soft smile as he led the others out of the room.

* * *

A/N – hope you liked it! don't forget to vote on my profile!!!


End file.
